Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and her ministers participated in a river “aarti” at Yamuna after taking office, signaling the BJP’s commitment to clean the heavily polluted river, a key promise in their recent electoral campaign. With the slogan of revitalizing Yamuna as Delhi’s identity, the BJP aims to implement a four-fold plan involving trash removal, sewage treatment capacity expansion, and regular monitoring of pollution sources. The BJP gained power after 28 years, winning 48 of 70 assembly seats, largely due to allegations of mismanagement by the Aam Aadmi Party regarding the river’s condition and air pollution.
New Delhi:
After taking their oaths, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and her ministers quickly headed to Yamuna at Vasudev Ghat to participate in the river “aarti”. This event was inspired by the evening ceremonies held at the ghats of Ganga in Haridwar and Varanasi. Besides serving as a political statement regarding the party’s return after 26 years, this act also reiterated the BJP’s commitment to restoring the Yamuna, once a vital resource for the historic city, now reduced to a mere drain.
“We will fulfill all the promises we have made… At 5 PM, we will go to Yamuna Ghat for the aarti. The cabinet meeting is scheduled for 7 PM,” stated the Chief Minister during her assumption of office at the Delhi Secretariat, where she met with officials and party leaders.
In the lead-up to the assembly elections, the BJP pledged a clean Yamuna within three years. This commitment was echoed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the party’s victory celebrations. He assured that the Yamuna would become “The identity of Delhi.”
“I pledged during the election campaign that we would make Yamuna ji the identity of Delhi. I believe this is achievable. Regardless of the time and energy required, with strong resolve, we will have the blessings of Yamuna ji,” he declared in his victory address.
Within its election manifesto, the “Viksit Bharat Sankalp Patra”, the BJP announced plans to create a “Yamuna Kosh” dedicated to the river’s revitalization and riverfront development projects.
The Lieutenant Governor’s office has presented a four-pronged approach for the river’s cleanup, which includes removing trash and silt from the river and drains—particularly the Najafgarh drain, the largest contributor to pollution—enhancing sewage treatment capacity to 1,000 million gallons per day, and increasing the capacity of common effluent treatment plants to 220 MLD.
The LG also assured ongoing supervision not only for industrial facilities but also for sewage and wastewater treatment plants.
Work commenced on Sunday, four days prior to the Chief Minister’s swearing-in ceremony. Officials from the Lieutenant Governor’s office reported that the removal of trash and silt has begun using skimmers, weed harvesters, and a dredger.
The BJP regained power in Delhi after a 28-year absence in the assembly elections held earlier this month, winning 48 out of 70 assembly seats. Concerns about corruption within Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party, along with civic issues such as the Yamuna’s condition, air pollution, and AAP’s inability to address these issues despite controlling the civic body, significantly contributed to the BJP’s success.
The pollution of the Yamuna became a focal point late in the campaign, following Arvind Kejriwal’s accusations that the Haryana BJP government was “poisoning” the river water.
Both BJP and Congress quickly highlighted that the AAP has not fulfilled its promise to clean the river, despite reportedly spending over Rs 6,000 crore in the last five years.